Invasive Species Distributions Notes
An East Asian gecko (Gekko hokouensis, Gekkonidae) intercepted in Champlain, New York, USA Aaron M. Bauer1,2 , Barry W. Baker3 1 Department
of Biology, Villanova University, 800 Lancaster Avenue, Villanova, Pennsylvania 19085-1699, USA 2 Corresponding author; e-mail:
[email protected] 3 U.S. National Fish & Wildlife Forensics Laboratory, Morphology Section, 1490 East Main Street, Ashland, Oregon 97520-1310, USA Key data. Gekko hokouensis; Gekkonidae; Hokou gecko; individual arrival; United States. New York State; Champlain; Port of Champlain (45◦ 0 24 N, 73◦ 27 13 W); 21 August 2007; collected by a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Agriculture Specialist; California Academy of Sciences (CAS) 238864; verified by Jens Vindum, California Academy of Sciences.
A live specimen of the gekkonid gecko Gekko hokouensis was intercepted by border inspectors at the Port of Champlain, New York, USA, in a shipment of plastic liners that originated in Qingdao, Shandong Province, People’s Republic of China. The shipment traveled from China by ship (departure 17 July 2007), stopping briefly in Tacoma, Washington, before being offloaded in Vancouver, British Columbia. From there it traveled by train to Montréal, Québec, before being trucked into Champlain (arrival 21 August 2007). The male specimen (CAS 238864) was accidentally killed during capture and was fixed in 10% formalin and tranferred to 70% ethanol. Its relatively small size (47.0 mm SVL) suggests that the specimen is a subadult. The native range of Gekko hokouensis includes southern and central eastern mainland China, Taiwan (including Lanyu Island), the Ryukyu Archipelago, and the southern extremity of Kyushu Island, Japan (Zhou et al., 1982; Ota et al., 1988, 1995; Zhao et al., 1999; Goris and Maeda, 2004). A single record from Tablas Island, Philippines (Taylor, 1962) is almost certainly incorrect (Ota et al., 1989). The port of origin of the shipment containing this gecko is north of the native range of G. hokouensis, and it is probable that the lizard reached Qingdao overland in a truck or rail shipment of goods from the south. © Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, 2008 Also available online - www.brill.nl/ah
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Invasive Species Distributions Notes
Ota et al. (1995) reported the probable accidental introduction of this species into Hachijojima Island in the Izu Group off the coast of Honshu in association with garden plants imported from the Ryukyus. Gekko hokouensis has been considered chiefly an inhabitant of montane areas (Zhou et al., 1982) and is associated with secondary forest habitats and rock crevices (Ota et al., 1988), which may explain why only one case of its translocation has been documented (Lever, 2003). However, the Hachijojima population appears to be chiefly commensal (Ota et al., 1995), suggesting that this species is adaptable and can become established extralimitally. Although the severe winters of northern New York State would preclude establishment of this species there, other American ports of entry, particularly in California and along the Gulf Coast could conceivably support the establishment of G. hokouensis, as they have other geckos (Lever, 2003). Given the rapid increase of the number of introduced amphibians and reptiles worldwide, more studies of potential invasion pathways are needed.
Acknowledgements. We thank the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Agriculture Specialist who collected the specimen. Wildlife Inspector Robert Mulkeen (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service) recognized its potential significance and donated the specimen for research purposes. A.M. Bauer was supported by National Science Foundation grant DEB-0515909.
References Goris, R.C., Maeda, N. (2004): Guide to the Amphibians and Reptiles of Japan. Malabar, Florida, Krieger Publishing Co. Lever, C. (2003): Naturalized Reptiles and Amphibians of the World. Oxford, Oxford University Press. Ota, H., Crombie, R.I., Lue, K.-Y., Chen, S.-H. (1988): A record of Gekko hokouensis (Reptilia: Sauria) from Lanyu Island, Taiwan, with notes on its variation. J. Taiwan Mus. 41: 7-14. Ota, H., Furuse, K., Yagishita, J. (1995): Colonizations of two exotic reptiles on Hachijojima Island of the Izu Group, Japan. Biol. Mag. Okinawa 33: 55-59. Ota, H., Lue, K.-Y., Chen, S.-H., Brown, W.C. (1989): Taxonomic status of the Taiwanese Gekko, with comments on the synonymy of Luperosaurus amissus Taylor. J. Herpetol. 23: 76-78. Taylor, E.H. (1962): New oriental reptiles. Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull. 43: 209-263. Zhao, E., Zhao, K., Zhou, K. (Eds) (1999): Fauna Sinica. Reptilia, Vol. 2. Squamata. Lacertilia. Beijing, Science Press. Zhou, K., Liu, Y., Li, D. (1982): Three new species of Gekko and remarks on Gekko hokouensis (Lacertiformes, Gekkonidae). Acta Zootax. Sinica 7: 438-446, pls. 1-2. [English translation by Ota, H., Hikida, T., Lue, K. 1989. Smithson. Herpetol. Inform. Serv. No. 77, 12 pp.]
